Yum-mo
Author: Carina Truyts
Publisher: Human and Rousseau
I’ve kind of given up as far as cooking goes… Last year I would have said I could boil an egg, but after watching a MasterChef Australia 2012 episode in which the two judges had different ways of doing this most simple of tasks, I realise I haven’t even got that right.
So, much of my disposable income goes to the local restaurants of Durban.
Yum-mo might just change some of that. This fun, fresh look at cooking will inspire even the most jaded among us, although it is geared towards the beginner and students.
It gives the most simple of instructions and, with great photographs, will have you cooking quick, healthy meals in no time. And it really is idiot-proof. You will discover the most basic of basics – how to turn on a stove, literally, to how to use the grill, and how to chop butternut, ginger, chillies and other veggies.
You will find out what pots and pans to buy and which basic ingredients you should always have on hand. Best of all is a list of what all those fancy cooking terms – like al dente – mean. And a delightful description of some not-so-official culinary terms, like “nuke”, for example, which the author describes as, “What you do to things in your microwave. Not strictly a cooking term.”
From breakfasts to pizza and even hangover remedies, this is chicken soup for the soul made easy, and although nothing will ever sound the death knell of my forays to local restaurants, it has given me much food for thought.
The Mercury